[Report file] Why is Korean content popular around the world?

'If you are curious about the Korean Wave' is the 3rd report file.

Previously, I pointed out the repeated incorrect answers of foreign media saying that 'the success factor of the Korean Wave is the support policy of the Korean government'. Then, what is the fundamental reason for the success of the Korean Wave, what the 'Korean Wave policy' should be, and the media information of Seoul National University, which is considered as one of the Hallyu researchers. Let's continue to listen to Professor Hong Seok-kyung's story.

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Is the success of the Korean Wave thanks to the government?

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Korean Wave success on the basis of democratization

A. When it comes to why Korea and not other countries, democratization in the 1980s is very important.

Censorship is gone because we have achieved democratization.

Freedom of expression was gained, and cultural thirst that was suppressed and could not be expressed properly exploded in the 1990s, and I think the foundation of the current cultural form was established in the 1990s.

Even though Koreans were poor in the 70s and 80s, their children worked hard to educate them.

It is thanks to democratization that the cultural thirst of the educated people has been quenched.

I think this is the most important factor.

However, most of them do not try to delve into it that much and just say that the Korean Wave succeeded because Korea worked hard in its cultural policy just as it worked hard in its economic policy.

The 'universality' of Korean content that can be seen all over the world

It seems that Korea has now reached the position of a speaker who can speak a universal message in both camps, both developed and non-developed countries. First of all, if you look at developed countries, the things that are being recognized there are things like 'parasites' or 'squid game'. These people were amazed at the boldness of the content, the universality of it, and things like that. Because the West is a country that experienced the problems of class society and the gap between the rich and the poor, which we are critically criticizing in the 'Squid Game', much earlier than us. It's a country that has had more time than we do to create social security systems and other devices to solve those problems, or make them less painful. So, even though I knew there was a problem, I had to become somewhat blunt, and even if I criticize more, there is no other alternative.

However, Korea is developing very quickly and rapidly entering into this problem, feeling the gap between the rich and the poor as a bloody wound, and has the ability to express it.

That's how much our cultural industry has developed, and Koreans have been educated a lot, especially Korean viewers, isn't it?

No matter how famous a person makes it, if it is not made well, it will never be looked at.

I think that the fact that Korean pop culture has reached this level now is not the industrial success of a few, but the cultural heritage of the entire Korean society and we all achieved it together.

In this way, Korea has become a subject that can tell a universal story in developed countries.

Even from a less developed country, Korea has many texts that can be identified.

In some ways, these countries have problems that are worse than the gap between the rich and the poor, and there are many countries that have not been democratized, and there are countries that have complex historical problems such as race problems.

From the perspective of these countries, Korea is 'a country that was similar to us 50 years ago, 30 years ago, 10 years ago, but has now become such an advanced country'.

Because Korea is a country that was colonized similarly to them, and experienced war and extreme poverty, it is all reflected in our daily lives.

Korea has a lot of texts that are very good for them to identify with.

This isn't something you'd find in Hollywood movies, sophisticated European culture, or individualistic Japanese content.

So, I think Korea is a country that has the experience to become a universal speaker that can be used in both worlds, and it is because it has the skills.

Confidence is good, but superiority is difficult

A. Yes.

There are still many problems in Korean popular culture, and those problems are actually problems of our society.

Racism in Korean society and such issues are all exposed.

So I want to express it like this.

Korea should not have a sense of superiority due to the success of popular culture, but it should have confidence.

Because it is not a result that anyone can reach.

Not everyone has the ability to express themselves like this.

Watch a Korean drama or movie.

No matter how poorly made, the lower limit is very high.

Korea is doing really well in this way, and all the problems of Korean society are projected into it.

So racist issues, gender issues, and human rights issues are all in there.

Being able to criticize yourself is a cultural competency

In a way, the most sincere ability to point an anatomical camera at ourselves is, after all, our cultural ability. Just because you hide it, doesn't mean you can hide it well and increase your ability. Perhaps some of the people who are diplomatic in Korea these days have double feelings. The reality of Korea that 'Squid Game' or 'Parasite' shows is never beautiful. Of course, it was shown very satirically and metaphorically, but many viewers do not see it only as a metaphor. Some say, 'Is Korea really that way?' and may have a negative image. But the ability to see oneself critically like this is a true cultural competency, and that's why these works are recognized.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't feel superior. It keeps the racist demon in us alive. It is already being revealed a lot in K-pop culture. K-pop has become very global with the emergence of racist boundaries, but there is a tendency for non-Asian people to be recognized or to create a certain 'hierarchy', so both industry workers and audiences need to be very careful. it would be

Still, I see it very positively.

I think I will move forward even if I make mistakes, and I will learn what I did wrong in the field.

I observe a lot of K-pop fandom culture, so I see a lot of such cases.

Young people who seem to be interested only in the things in front of them are meeting cosmopolitan issues while talking to each other within the fandom, fighting with fans far away and becoming friends.

I think that great learning that cannot be learned even in school is taking place there.

In that sense, Korea is doing a great job culturally.

Hallyu is thanks to the creators' blood, sweat and tears... Working conditions need to be improved

A. Yes.

As I said before, the Korean Wave is an acceptance phenomenon.

The government took an active role and made a lot of efforts to globalize Korean food and hanbok, but there were no special results.

Now that we know the effect, we'll need to change the policy a bit.

Any country spends a lot of money to promote its own cultural industry, but what matters is where it is used.

At this stage, Korea needs to think about what to do.

I believe that the success of the Korean Wave is really thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of the creators of Korean pop culture.

However, the popular culture industry is an industry that relies on the passion of young people to the extent that screenwriters even starved to death not so long ago.

Even if it is better than before, many people are still working hard.

(* In 2011, young screenwriter Choi Eun-eun died after suffering from extreme hardship, and this led to the birth of the Artist Welfare Act, also known as the “Choi-eun Law.” You have to come in to maintain a good level, so you have to create conditions for that.

In the content industry, few really succeed and many have to work in the shadows, and I think the government should invest more in the direction of securing basic survival and working conditions for these people.

Many freelance workers don't have a lot of work and no income for a long period between projects.

I think we need a policy related to the infrastructure, how to fill in those things a little.

Popular culture is a common heritage…

Archive required

Also, there is something that I think is especially necessary these days. As I mentioned earlier, the hallyu is something that countless voluntary fans around the world do. So, K-pop culture is more than half of what the fandom does. There's a reason BTS wears ARMYs on their lips every day. What BTS has accomplished is not alone. Fans produce a lot of content, and this is K-pop culture after all. But since these things are all over the SNS YouTube, can we just leave it there, and do we just need an album somewhere to be found?

So is the drama. The reason why the drama has developed like this is because the Korean viewers really looked at it competitively, and it was the result of our taste being projected. Our dramas were not pre-produced, but were filmed while watching the reactions of the viewers. At the time, I thought that I couldn't make a good work because I couldn't pre-produce it, but there is another environment where I have no choice but to make it like that.

In this way, popular culture is something that all our joy, sorrow, and desires are projected on, so we consider it a heritage, and store, record, and database it in some way, so that the general public can access it and use it as an archive for secondary use. I think you should make it. So it can be an asset as well as a legacy.

The state should invest in these databases and archiving to preserve a lot of valuable material from being washed away in a digital tsunami. We need work to collect, classify, and store valuable things so that they can be left for future generations and used in the same time period, but I think it should be done at the national level.

A Yes.

They are all scattered and not easy to find.

I think you should also dictate when archiving begins.

We have developed so quickly that we have a lot to say even when we are in our late 50s and 60s.

Some of you are older.

The most important thing is to look at ourselves if we want to have self-esteem and confidence, but not fall into a false sense of superiority or 'gukppong'.

It's like studying history.

That's why archives are so important.